Bristol

Jones Lang LaSalle’s view on how the Budget may impact the South West

2013-03-20T05:00:00Z

​Bristol, 20 March 2013 – Commenting on today’s Budget announcements made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer In response to the Chancellor’s Budget this afternoon, Jeremy Richards head of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Bristol office said:

“From an occupier standpoint, it is disappointing to see that economic growth forecasts have been halved as this will impact sentiment in terms of investment in the UK. It is also disappointing that the Budget contained no news on how the Government will allocate resources to regional LEPs, through the Heseltine Review.

“However, we welcome measures to open Britain’s doors to more international business, such as cutting Corporation Tax to 20 per cent from April 2015, making it the lowest business tax of any major economy in the world.

“The Help To Buy scheme, with its £130bn of Government-backed mortgages, can only be good news for construction firms and will help stimulate the housing market. Boosting infrastructure by £3bn a year is also welcome – the construction industry tends to have very UK-based supply lines, meaning that benefits do not ‘leak out’ and increase exports.

“We also welcome the Chancellor’s desire to make Britain the most internationally attractive place to innovate. In the South West we are home to some of the sectors the Chancellor recognised in his budget speech as experiencing global success, putting our region in a strong position.”